Patty Kidder: A Voice from Maine Standing Up for Working-Class Health Care

Patty Kidder lives in Springvale, Maine, and has spent her entire life struggling to afford health care. Her parents ran their own business and didn’t have insurance, so they only took her to the doctor when absolutely necessary. After she married, her family relied on her husband’s job for health insurance until the plant where he worked shut down in 2009. He lost his job of over 20 years, and they lost their insurance.

When their youngest child turned 18 and graduated from high school, the family lost Medicaid coverage. Her husband, who was partially disabled, relied on medications to stay alive and avoid hospitalization. With little income, they couldn’t afford the cost of his prescriptions.

Patty joined Maine People’s Alliance and started fighting to expand Medicaid and protect the Affordable Care Act. At the time, Maine’s governor refused to accept federal funds for Medicaid expansion. Patty and other advocates pushed the issue through the legislature, but the governor vetoed the bill. They fell short of overriding the veto by just a few votes. Instead of giving up, they brought the issue to the voters. The people passed it, but they still needed to elect a new governor to put it into effect.

Patty continues to fight for Medicaid. “We are still fighting for it. It is still under attack. And we need our legislature in Augusta and in the federal government in DC to fight tooth and nail to save our health care,” she said.

Patty already feels the effects of possible Medicaid cuts. “The fear of them doing it is already affecting me. It’s already affecting my health care choices, and whether or not I call and get another doctor’s appointment,” she said. Although she qualifies for Medicare, she explained that it only covers 80 percent of her costs. “That still leaves you 20 percent of a lot. If you’re low income like we are, on a fixed income, you cannot afford the 20 percent.”

“If they cut Medicaid, we’re doomed,” she said. “We just plainly won’t get the health care we need, because we won’t be able to afford the copays.”

Medicaid helps Patty pay for her drug plan, including the premium and prescription costs. “I think my copay is like $4.90 for a prescription that would normally cost several hundred,” she said. “It is lifesaving. Without that benefit, lots of people are going to die or become very, very ill. And that includes my family, myself, my husband, people I care about, people we all care about.”

Patty rejects the idea that Medicaid is a good place to make budget cuts. She believes the country needs improved Medicare for All that covers everything at 100 percent. “We need it to cover vision, we need it to cover dental, we need it to cover hearing,” she said. “Evidently feet are no longer part of your body. You need special insurance to cover your feet unless you’re diabetic.”

Patty also opposes any work requirements tied to Medicaid or the ACA. “People who really need a lot of health care, a good many of them really and truly can’t work a lot of hours. So, putting that kind of a restriction on it doesn’t work,” she said. “If people were already able to work that many hours, they would be. And they’d have a job that gave them the insurance. You guys are really just kind of saying, it’s illegal for you to be poor.”

Patty urges lawmakers to treat health care as a human right and to make it more accessible and affordable. “People are more important than money. Wake up, people.”

She ended with a clear message: “Hands off my Medicaid.”